The Boy Next Door
by iluvwillschuester
Summary: High school AU. The Schuesters and the Pillsburys couldn't be more different. The Schuesters are loud, big, and messy. The Pillsburys are quiet, small, and organized. And yet, every night Emma Pillsbury sits on her roof and watches the Schuesters. One day, everything changes...a curly-haired Schuester climbs up and sits next to her, altering their lives forever. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1- Rooftop Chats

Chapter 1- Rooftop Chats

**Author's Note- So this is my new story that you guys voted for. The Boy Next Door won by one vote, beating out Starry Nights. I tallied the votes at midnight on Friday instead of posting anything because people were still voting. I did get a vote this morning but I didn't count it because I had already started writing this, so I'm sorry. :P What you need to know for this story is that it is a high school AU. Emma does not have OCD but still is herself, like in character and stuff. And it takes place in present time, like not the 90s or anything. So I hope you guys all like this. ;)**

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Emma glanced at her phone to check the time. 12:30 am. She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled into her driveway. Luckily, the teen girl had just made her curfew. Not like she ever really missed it. Emma was more of a wallflower; only going to a few parties a year and having a tight-knit circle of friends. She wasn't one to drink or even attempt drugs and she was usually asleep as soon as she hit the pillow. Emma was currently single on account of her mom didn't approve of her last boyfriend, Matt, and his obsession with _Call of Duty. _Her mom wanted her to date someone who had the same goals as her; someone who was driven and determined to make something of their life. Of course, her mom also wanted Emma to be driven and get good grades and be practically perfect. Only Emma wasn't good at being perfect, but her sister, Melissa, was. Melissa was going to be a sophomore at Ohio State University, received almost all A's during her first year, and always had the perfect guy wrapped around her pinkie. It was safe to say that Melissa was following in their mother's path.

Emma closed the front door behind her and spotted a light on in the family room. "Mom? Are you up?" Emma asked, walking into the room.

Rose Pillsbury was curled up on the couch next to her boyfriend of three weeks, Darren Hastings. Emma's mom and her dad, Rusty, had divorced early on. Emma was around five when it happened so she didn't remember all that much. Just that there was a lot of fighting and a lot of her dad sleeping on the couch and trying not to cry. It wasn't a fun time but like usual, Rose adjusted and soon Melissa and Emma learned to as well.

"Hi honey," Rose greeted, sleepily, nuzzling her head deeper into her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Hey kiddo," Darren smiled lazily.

Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was so over the whole act of her mom's boyfriends trying to act like her dad. She knew they were just trying to be nice but it was annoying to her and she was surprised it didn't annoy her mom. "Hi," Emma started, faking a yawn. "I'm going to go to bed. I'm tired."

"You sure you don't want to watch _Law & Order _with us?" Darren offered, gesturing to the TV in front of them.

"It's good training if you'd ever want to be a lawyer," her mom smiled.

Emma bit her lip, the last thing she'd want for her future was to be sitting in a court room all day taking charge of someone else's. How was she supposed to be figuring out someone else's future, when she couldn't even figure out her own? "Nah, I think I'll just hit the sack. But you two have a good night," Emma replied.

"Okay then," Rose murmured. "Good night, Emmie."

"Night," Darren saluted, goofily, her mom gazing at him like he was the greatest thing ever.

Emma nodded her good nights and pranced up the steps to her room. Emma's room was at the end of the hall, across from Melissa's old room. She turned the knob and threw her American Outfitters bag onto her desk and pulled off her Nine West flats. Emma walked into the bathroom connected to her room and pulled off her clothes, throwing on an old pair of Nike running shorts and last year's cross country t-shirt. She proceeded to then brush her teeth before putting her hair into a loose bun.

Emma walked back into her room and sat on her bed, about to turn on her cell and check for any texts. She smiled a bit and her eyes widened with curiosity as she could hear the familiar sounds of her next door neighbors coming from her window. Emma opened it wider and climbed out of it, sitting on roof. It wasn't completely dangerous; underneath the roof ledge there was a ladder. But of course, her mom still wouldn't approve of her being out here. It was a good thing she didn't know that Emma came out every night.

Especially since the fact that Emma came out was to watch her neighbors, the Schuesters, carry on with their carefree lives. It wasn't like she was their stalker or anything, she just liked to watch them and imagine what living like them would be like. The Schuesters had eight kids and two parents still happily together. Their house was always loud and messy from what she could see and all of their kids seemed to have their own reputation among their small town of Lima, Ohio. Their dad owned the local hardware store and a few of the older boys worked at it with him. Emma was pretty sure that their mom was just a stay at home mom. The kids were all generally happy and Emma could often hear echoes of laughter late into the night. Emma hadn't picked up on all of their names but from watching them, she learned some of them. She had seen all of them at one point or another and had heard them talking to each other or about one another. For instance, Emma knew that the youngest one's name was Sofia and she was one and a half. She was pretty sure that Harry was around six and knew that he was the troublemaker of the family. Emma was constantly hearing his mother chasing him around and heard his older siblings laughing about his escapades. Emma knew that there was another boy in between Harry and Sofia but she couldn't remember his name. She knew that the oldest was Jake and he was attending college at Ohio State on a football scholarship. He had been a phenomenal player for McKinley high school, a few years back and was always in the papers. Emma also knew that there was a boy her age, which she could also not remember the name of. He had a reputation for being a nice guy and cute which were both things Emma liked in a guy. She was also pretty sure that he was a football player at McKinley as well.

The only reason that Emma was only "pretty sure" about all this was because she didn't attend McKinley. Her mom would never approve of her going to a public school, because they apparently weren't the best for her education. Rose wanted only the best for her girls, which annoyed Emma most times. So, Emma attended the McKinley Academy; an expensive private school with only about 80 people in each grade. She had friends there so it was okay, but she had always wondered what the public high school would be like.

There was one more thing that her mom couldn't stand. Well, not really a thing, but instead, a family. The Schuesters. Ever since the Pillsburys moved to Lima after the divorce, Rose couldn't stand their neighbors. No, they weren't bad neighbors at all. In fact, they had brought cookies for the Pillsburys when they first moved and even tried inviting them to barbeques and such. Back then, the Schuesters only had four kids but their house was equally as loud and messy. The problem was Rose just didn't approve of their lifestyle or how they handled things. Instead of disciplining a child, they just told them not to do it again instead of grounding them. When the house was a mess, they had all the kids pitch in to help, instead of their mom just doing it. There was no such thing as quiet in the Schuester household or their backyard for that matter, and Rose hated that. She didn't believe they were raising their kids the right way or that they had anything good going on for them. That and the fact that they had way too many kids, Rose and the other moms at the country club would always joke that that family had never heard of birth control. Basically, the Schuesters were chaotic. Rose hated chaos, therefore, Emma had never been allowed to associate with them or make friends with them. Sometimes, Emma had wished that her mom had been different when they were younger. Perhaps, some of her best friends could've lived next door.

Emma's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a rustling coming from somewhere below. She furrowed her brow; it couldn't be leaves. It was the first week of summer vacation so that weather was nowhere near anytime soon. Emma turned to her left to see if it was just an animal when something tapped her on the shoulder.

Emma screamed, her head whipping around to find a laughing boy. "Holy crap," Emma breathed, realizing that it was one of the Schuesters. It had to be the boy that was her age.

The boy coughed, the lopsided smile still on his face. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I didn't know you scare easily."

"What?" Emma's eyebrows shot up. "I do not."

"You kinda do," the boy shrugged.

"You don't even know me," Emma replied, trying to a hide a smile.

"You're right," the boy exclaimed. He held out his hand to shake and grinned. "Hello, my name is Will Schuester. I live next door. I'm guessing you are Pretty Girl on the Roof?"

Emma shook his hand, laughing, and for the first time noticed how attractive he was. Will had a dimple on his chin which actually looked cute on him. He had sparkling blue eyes and curly brown hair, along with a lopsided smile. "I'm Emma Pillsbury," Emma told him, smiling. "I also live next door."

"And why are you alone on your roof, Ms. Emma?" Will asked, a playful tone in his voice.

"Wait. How did you even get up here?" Emma countered, looking from the ground to the roof.

"Okay, since we're being honest now," Will started. "I have to tell you my secret."

"What secret?" Emma wondered. She really hoped that it wasn't something like _I see you all the time on the roof and I think you're stalking me. _

"I'm really Spider-Man," Will declared, feigning seriousness.

Emma burst out laughing. "Really? I had no idea."

"Yup," Will nodded.

Emma looked him in the eyes, a smile on her face and shaking her head. "You're not Spider-Man."

"No, I'm not," Will replied. "But don't tell my little brothers that, they think I am."

Emma smiled, shaking her head. This boy was getting to her. "You used the ladder, didn't you?"

"Ohhh, you're a smart girl," Will teased. "I like smart girls." He winked, jokingly.

Emma laughed. "Ohhh, you're a funny boy," Emma mocked.

"And do you like funny boys?" Will questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Not when they climb up to my roof while I'm in my pajamas," Emma smirked.

Will gave her a quick once-over before shrugging. "I didn't notice."

"Yeah, well, I did," Emma rolled her eyes.

"I could change into my PJs if it made you more comfortable," Will suggested. "But I have to warn you, I sleep in my boxers."

"Ew, no thanks," Emma laughed. "I'm good."

"Just checking," Will grinned. "So, why are you out here? You still owe me an answer."

"I go out here to think," Emma informed him.

"And what were you thinking about tonight?" Will continued, hugging his knees.

"Stuff," Emma said. "My mom's new boyfriend, college…boring stuff." Emma of course left out the part where she was wondering about his family.

"Oh right," Will nodded. "This is going to be senior year for both of us."

Emma made a mental note that she was right; he was her age. "You forgot?" she asked, incredulously.

"I don't think about school during summer," Will chuckled. Emma smiled; her mom would be appalled. "Sorry to hear about your mom's boyfriend, that can't be fun."

"It's fine," Emma assured him. "My parents got divorced a long time ago."

"Oh," Will nodded. "Mine are still together."

"I know," Emma replied. "I see them a lot."

"Probably," Will smiled. He looked down at his backyard and saw a few of his siblings still splashing around in their pool. "Wanna go for a swim?"

"What?" Emma cried. "No way, Will. It's like one in the morning, practically."

"I know." He glanced back down at the pool, the goofy smile still on his face. "So, are you up for it?"

Emma shook her head. "Sorry, but I should probably be getting back inside." There was no way her mom would approve of her taking a swim with the Schuesters at one am.

Will made a pouty face. "Okay...but we should hang out sometime."

"I just met you," Emma laughed. "Why do you want to hang out with me? We barely know each other."

"You're seventeen, I'm seventeen," Will gestured to the two of them. "It's summer…why not?"

"Wow," Emma replied, resisting the urge to laugh again when she saw the dopey smile on his face. "I have to go to bed." She began opening her window back up, slowly.

"So…is that a yes?" Will asked, hopefully.

Emma now had her feet in her room and was leaning out, looking at Will. "Yes to what?"

"Hanging out," Will replied.

Emma ducked her head, blushing a bit.

"Oh, I think that was a nod," Will exclaimed, happily.

"Wait, what?" Emma asked, confused.

"Okay," Will nodded. "I will take you up on that and I will see you soon."

"Will, wait!" Emma called after him, as he made his way down the ladder.

Will looked up, that lopsided smile never leaving his face. "What?"

"What'd I just agree to?" Emma asked.

"I think you agreed to the possibility of a summer with the Schuesters," Will laughed, before hopping off the ladder and running across the yard.

Emma smiled, as she watched him jump the fence. She was starting to think that this could turn out to be a great summer.

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**I hope everybody liked the first chapter. It's going to be based off a book called My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick that I highly recommend to those who haven't read it. I would like to thank everyone who voted on the last chapter of Count on Me. It went very well, and I think I'd like to do that more often because people seemed to enjoy it. Update days for this story are on Fridays. :) **

**Please leave a review letting me know what you thought! It helps me write more. :) **

**See you guys Friday! Have a wonderful weekend. :) **

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	2. Chapter 2- Accidental Planning

Chapter 2- Accidental Planning

**Author's Note- Here's chapter 2, hope you like it. :)**

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Around nine in the morning, Emma rolled out of bed and blinked a few times while rubbing her eyes. She was pretty sure that her mom was working from home today, not that Emma would see her much. Emma worked at the local ice cream shop, SnoGo, and had shifts during the morning or during the afternoon, depending on the day. Today was an afternoon shift thankfully. Emma padded done the stairs and saw her mother, already dressed, drinking from a coffee mug and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," Rose greeted, without looking up from the paper.

"Mornin,'" Emma nodded, making her way to the pantries for cereal. She pulled out a box of Frosted Mini Wheats and poured some in a bowl for her. As she grabbed the milk, she was practically biting her tongue to keep from asking the question. "Mom…" Emma started, hesitating.

"Yes?" Rose peered over the top of her paper and set the mug down on a coaster.

"Um, well, I was wondering something," she continued.

"Just spit it out," her mom said, rolling her eyes. "If this has anything to do with Matt, the answer is still no."

Emma brought her bowl to the table and sat down beside Rose and smiled, shaking her head. "No, no, of course not. I understood that whole issue a long time ago," Emma assured her.

"Then what is it?" Rose wondered, suddenly paying more attention.

"The Schuesters," Emma told her, right before shoving a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

Rose cocked an eyebrow. "What about them?" She was a bit alarmed now because if there was anyone that Rose Pillsbury would absolutely kill if they were to date Emma, it'd be one of those boys.

"Well, why don't we ever hang out with them?" Emma asked, politely. She wasn't going to ask for her mom's permission to hang out with Will; she'd still hang out with him regardless of what her mom was about to tell her. She was just wondering for how long she'd be grounded for when her mom found out.

"First of all, where is this coming from?" Rose questioned. "You're not dating one of them, are you?"

"No!" Emma practically yelled. Her mom's sharp eyes glared at her accusingly and Emma replied again, but a lot quieter. "I mean, no."

"Then why the sudden interest in their lives?" Rose countered, accusingly.

Emma was starting to wish that she never brought up the subject. Now there was absolutely no chance for her and Will to hang out in the open. As usual though, Emma already had a backup plan. "Because they live right next door to us and we've exchanged like four words to each other our entire lives!" Emma exclaimed. "Don't you think that there might be something wrong with that?"

"With how they run their household; no," Emma's mom reasoned. "I gave them a chance when we first moved here but they're obviously out of control, Emma."

"How are they out of control for god's sake?" Emma cried, shoving her spoon in the direction of the Schuester's house.

"Don't wave around utensils," Mrs. Pillsbury instructed.

Emma rolled her eyes, waiting for her mom to continue on with her _How the Schuesters Are the Worst Thing to Happen to Lima_ lecture. In fact, Emma realized, they weren't even close to the worst thing to happen to Lima. They might even be one of the best. Everyone knew their family and the Schuesters were just lovable in general. The kids were cute and each one was likable and good at something. Their hardware store was where everyone went when something broke and most of the time; Mr. Schuester would come to people's houses and fix toilets and things like that for free. Just because he was nice and people liked him so this whole conversation was really stressing out Emma.

"They have eight kids, Emma," Rose continued. "No one has more than four kids these days, I mean Christ, most people settle for two."

"Hello," Emma exclaimed, waving around the spoon again to spite her mom. "More kids equals more future families."

"Emma, that family is a horrible example for everyone!" Rose nearly screamed. "Their kids are out of control, the parents probably forget about their kids half the time because they have too many, and none of those kids have decent futures going for them."

"What?" Emma muttered.

"How do you expect them all to get to college and make something of themselves? They have barely enough to get by," Rose explained, sighing.

"Do you know what I see?" Emma said, calmly.

"Enlighten me," Rose replied, exasperated.

"I see their oldest boy, Jake, going into his sophomore year of college at Ohio State and the starting wide receiver of their football team. On a freakin' full four-year scholarship. I see Will, the boy my age, working his butt off every day. Whether it's helping out with his siblings, or going to like two different jobs, or practicing for football; that boy never stops working. I see the six-year-old, Harry, running around and laughing constantly doing whatever he can think of. He's creative. I saw one of the middle schoolers, Taylor I think is her name; win a statewide writing contest for her age. It was in the papers and everything. I'm sure she has to be in some honors classes to do that. So don't…don't tell me that you can take one look at that family and all of their kids, and tell me which ones are going to make it," Emma explained, loudly. "Because you have no idea."

* * *

"Good morning, honey," Mrs. Schuester smiled, kissing her son on the forehead.

"Good morning, Mom," Will replied. It was around nine in the morning and he and three other siblings were up already. Mr. Schuester had already left to go open up the shop and Will was on babysitting duty. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," his mom mumbled, searching for food. Claire Schuester turned to face Will, a small smile on her face. "Do you know if Harry took the frying pan again? I told him that if he wants to make a home for the roly-polies, he has to do it with dirt."

Will laughed. "No, it's in the sink. I made eggs and bacon for them and there's some for you too."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Claire replied, starting the microwave. "Who's up?"

"Harry, Caleb, and Sofia," Will told her, walking over to rinse the plates in the sink. He hooked his thumb behind him and grinned. "They're right behind us."

Claire looked past Will's shoulder and saw the three kids in the den; watching _Adventure Time._ Their den was attached to the kitchen and there was no door or wall to separate the two rooms. "Good morning, guys," Claire exclaimed, trying to get their attention.

Sofia turned her head and spotted her mom, her tiny face breaking out into a grin. "Mommy!" she cried, hopping off the sofa and waddling towards her mom.

Claire walked over and scooped her up. "Hey Sofia," she cooed, kissing her cheek.

"Hi," Sofia repeated. She was one and a half and could speak pretty well for that age, better than most of Claire's kids did at that age.

"What are you guys doing?" Claire asked the younger boys.

Harry paused the TV and he and Caleb turned around. "We're watching _Adventure Time_," Harry announced. He pushed his brown curls aside and smiled. "Do you want to watch with us?"

"After I eat, I will," Claire laughed. "How are you doing, buddy?" she asked, patting Caleb's head.

"Good," Caleb responded. "I like this episode, Princess Bubblegum is funny."

"I bet," Claire replied, smiling at the four year old. She set down Sofia on the sofa and sat down with her plate of food.

Harry and Caleb went back to their TV show and Will sat down next to his mom. "Do we have plans today?" Will asked, scratching a phantom itch on his elbow.

"I don't think so, why?" Claire wondered.

"The younger ones were wondering if I could take them out for ice cream after lunch," Will smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea," Claire agreed. "It's totally fine with me."

"Mommy, de boys can't go," Sofia declared, pulling on her mom's shirt. "Dey s'naked."

"We're not naked," Caleb argued.

Claire laughed, sighing. "She doesn't know the difference."

"Sofia," Harry started. "Boys don't sleep with shirts on. It's a thing."

"Is it really a thing?" Claire asked. "Because I think you guys are just trying to copy Will."

Will laughed, as Sofia rested her head on his bare chest. "Hey, lead by example, right?"

The rest of his siblings and his mom continued on with mindless chatter and Will kept thinking about later. He had heard from his friend, Tim, that Emma worked at SnoGo. He was hoping to accidentally see her when he brought the little ones. He was thinking that going over to her house and inviting her somewhere was too sudden but accidentally running into her was good enough. So that was the plan.

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Emma was waiting behind the counter at her job. SnoGo was a make-your-own ice cream type of place, so there wasn't usually a lot to do for her; other than ring people up. Today was a slow day though, so she had practically nothing to do other than wait for someone to show up. The door opened from the back entrance and she looked up from her Coke slushie. She craned her neck and had to force herself not to blush when she saw him.

It was Will, with a few of his siblings. Will was wearing yellow FC Barcelona Nike soccer shorts and a gray Hollister t-shirt along with white Converse with no socks. He had a little girl on his hip and he kept shifting her weight around. Emma was guessing that they walked there. There were two young boys with him. She recognized one of them as Harry and the other as the one in between him and the girl. Harry was shirtless and she noticed a small blue shirt hanging out of the waistband of Will's shorts. He must've taken it off somewhere along the way. The other boy was wearing a red tee with a green dinosaur printed on the front and khaki cargo shorts, this boy was also holding Will's hand.

She noticed that Will didn't seem stressed out at all, like carrying around all those little kids was standard protocol. He smiled when he and Emma made eye contact. "Oh hi Emma," he greeted, trying to sound casual. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah!" Caleb exclaimed. "You told us, Will, when we were walking."

Harry walked up to the counter and leaned over it, standing on his tip toes. "Are you the pretty girl on the roof? Because Will was hoping to…" Harry made quotation marks with his tiny fingers. "Accidentally see you."

"Is that so?" Emma giggled, noticing Will's face heat up.

"He's lying," Will assured her, giving the two boys a warning look.

"No, no!" Caleb argued, jumping up and down. "You are, Willy. I'm going to tell Daddy."

Will sighed, rolling his eyes. "Can we just order the ice cream?"

Harry looked seriously at Emma. "If you lie, you get time-outs. Time-outs are scary."

"Hmm," Emma replied, tapping her chin. "So, what are the names of you two very honest boys?"

"I'm Harry," Harry told her, smiling. He held out his small hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you," Emma giggled, shaking his hand.

"I'm Caleb," Caleb grinned. He held up four fingers, excitedly. "I'm five!"

"He's four, Will laughed. "We're still working on the concept of numbers with him. This is Sofia."

"Hey there," Emma waved to the little girl.

Sofia smiled shyly, ducking her head.

A few minutes later, the five of them were all seated at a table, eating ice cream. Emma couldn't help but notice how good Will was with these little kids. Not once did he get annoyed or stressed by them, instead he kept focusing on them to make sure they didn't spill ice cream on themselves or each other. Emma was starting to think that that's why Harry didn't have a shirt on as the boy continued to have chocolate dribbling down his chest.

"Is Will your friend?" Harry asked Emma.

Emma winked at Will and looked down at the younger Schuester. "Yeah, I think so."

"Are two married?" Caleb asked, as Will wiped his chin for about the billionth time.

Will nearly choked on his ice cream and blushed a bit.

"Um, no," Emma laughed. "We're a bit young to get married."

"Are you going to get married soon?" Caleb wondered, licking his ice cream cone.

"What's with all the marriage talk?" Will interrupted, trying to change the subject.

"If you're not marrying Will, then can I marry you?" Harry asked, politely. "You're really beautifuler than other girls."

Emma blushed, laughing. "I guess we can get married."

"Really?" Harry exclaimed, a huge smile on his face now.

"I don't think you should propose to someone without a shirt on, about ten minutes after you first met," Will smirked. "Things are moving a bit too fast, don't you think, Sofia?"

"He's s'naked!" Sofia exclaimed.

"I'm not naked," Harry grumbled under his breath.

Will smiled at Emma from across the table and she smiled back. "You have a nice family," she told him.

"Thanks," Will nodded. "I'm sure you do too."

Emma could only wish that she did, for Will's sake.

* * *

**How do you like it? Do you like Will's family so far? They're kinda like my family haha, I'm the oldest of five kids so our house gets pretty hectic too. I'm sorry if this chapter is bad. I literally spent like the past hour on it and about a half hour on it this morning and that was it. That's like a super short time for me to write a chapter. :P I also think I rushed because I want to watch the rest of Abduction with my family because Taylor Launter is hot haha. I hope that all of you are having a good night :). **

**I said this in the last chapter of COM, but I'm going to be gone on vacation all next week without my laptop. My parents won't let me bring it because like family time and all that. So I won't be able to update anything next week, I'm really sorry. :P At least I updated on time today, if that helps. **

**Please leave a review below! :) It would make me really happy. **

**See you guys in 2 weeks! Bye! **

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